Shilique Calhoun

On the debut episode of Inside the Oakland Raiders, Bay Area News Group’s Courtney Cronin, Jimmy Durkin and Jerry McDonald dive into Week 3 of the preseason and the Raiders major areas of focus: enabling the run, stopping the run and getting to the quarterback. Continue Reading →

Shilique Calhoun

The third-round pick from Michigan State will get his fill of playing time this year and started showing some of his natural ability in this game.

He did a solid job setting the edge a couple of times and in the fourth quarter got in to the backfield for his first NFL sack. On the play, he rushed free off the left side, changed directions along with Packers quarterback Marquise Williams and wrapped his paws around him for the sack. Continue Reading →

One of the best pure pass rushers from the 2016 NFL Draft class is now a protege of two of the best to do it in the league.

Former Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun is used to blowing up opposing backfields with his explosive speed off the edge. When the Raiders third round draft pick arrived at training camp, more was asked of Calhoun and his athletic abilities as he began cross training as a strong-side linebacker. Continue Reading →

Ben Heeney showed his potential late last season and figures to be among the starting linebackers. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

We turn our attention to linebackers for part four of this 10-part series looking at each of the Raiders position groups before training camp begins on Friday.

This is when it starts to get a little tricky, especially for a team like the Raiders. The line between linebacker and defensive end can get very blurry. Consider this: Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin play essentially the same position on opposite sides of the defense. Mack is listed at defensive end and Irvin at linebacker.

For the purposes of this breakdown, I’ll go with the positions each player is listed at on the Raiders official roster. Irvin and Shilique Calhoun will appear here. Mack will be in the next post for defensive lineman. Continue Reading →

The draft addressed two of the most pressing needs by grabbing a starting safety and a change of pace running back. The Ward pick will have to be evaluated later to see if he can make an immediate impact — you need that from a second round pick. Calhoun seems like a nice addition as an extra pass rusher. Cook could give you a decent backup quarterback and somebody to step in if something were to happen to Derek Carr, James is probably going to be a special teams player who may see the field on defense if he develops quickly and Alexander is good value in the seventh round. That’s my view, but let’s take a look at what the national media is saying. Continue Reading →